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Three men, two of them brothers, have been arrested on suspicion of cheating 21 people by selling – but never delivering – a range of items online, including soccer gambling tips, concert tickets and furniture.

Over three months, police received complaints from the victims, aged 21 to 50, who forked out a total of HK$260,000 for tickets to Taiwanese singer Jay Chou’s concert in the city last month, admission tickets to Ocean Park, used furniture and flowers for Valentine’s Day, sold at lower-than-usual prices on social networking platforms.

In one case, a victim in Taiwan paid HK$220,000 for soccer gambling tips. The victim came to the city and approached police for help.

On Monday night, the trio – a clerk, a transportation worker and a kitchen helper, aged 21 to 23 – were arrested for obtaining property by deception and money laundering in two flats in Kwai Shing East Estate in Kwai Chung.

Officers took away computers, mobile phones and bank documents.

A Yau Tsim district investigation team and the Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau were on the case.